Home Sweet Home

We cruised to Rock Hall in June to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We traveled to St. Michaels in July to celebrate another anniversary. This past weekend, the anniversary cruising crew hit up Baltimore and it is time to sing the praises of Harborview Marina. Our visiting friends liked the marina so much that one of them is considering spending the winter here. It's not hard to see why this place is so great.

People often ask how I like living on a boat in Baltimore. I tell them that I feel like I live at a resort: there are always people around, the views are fantastic, and I have easy access to Federal Hill and the rest of Baltimore. The marina staff is wonderful; I hope they don't mind that I keep bringing them homemade treats to thank them for being so kind and helpful.

I've already posted pictures of the view from our urban marina. Here are scenes from everything else.

Harborview Marina is basically a double-gated community. The front gate is open when the marina office or the Tiki Bar are open, otherwise you need a marina pass to open it. You also need a marina pass to get onto any of the docks. The view from the front gate:

The main promenade is stationary. The docks on either side are floating.

We have access to two pools:

This quiet pool is nestled between some of the townhouses in the community.

The pool in the floating barge at the end of the marina is a little more active with a bar and grill.

There are three bars/restaurants on site (with one more on the way):

The Tiki Barge Bar is attached to the pool and has some of the best views of Baltimore.

Sorso Café serves up coffee, sandwiches, gelato, and sells beer and wine. They have frequent nights with live music and a weekend omelet bar.

Sorso's menu board.

I can vouch for the Avocado filled with Crab Meat at Tabrizi's.

Many brides choose to have their ceremony on Tabrizi's outdoor patio.

The Raw Barge is already here and scheduled to open sometime in 2014.

There are many social/sitting areas along the promenade. Our group spent many hours at one of these tables Saturday evening.

The marina is very bike friendly:

We have access to a gym in the base of Harborview Tower:

There is a crew currently working on the Tower so please forgive the scaffolding in the picture. This area is normally much more bright and airy.

The view from the gym without the construction equipment.

While this isn't exactly glamorous, it's nice to have multiple, "camouflaged" areas for trash and recycling:

The marina is along a waterside promenade that leads to the Inner Harbor:

I've spent many hours running along this walkway that is a favorite for those training for their next race.

We are directly across the water from Pier 6 and can frequently hear entire concerts:

I recently listened to ZZ Top and the Steve Miller Band from the boat.

The Urban Pirates provide entertainment as they go by:

So, that's my backyard. What marinas do you love and why?